Return to Home

Three Colungas at Galeria Dante

Date of event: Saturday, November 29, 2003, 6 PM - 10 PM

Alejandro Colunga, born in Guadalajara in 1948, is best known to those who visit our fair city for the wonderful chairs "La Rotondo del Mar" he created in 1997 for Vallarta's boardwalk "malecon".

Alejandro was very young when he first heard of Vallarta. He sold his bicycle to pay his way here. He and some friends boarded an old truck to Vallarta but got bogged down in the mud crossing the River Ameca. Dying of laughter they decided to swim, totally ignoring the screams of an old man to beware of crocodiles.

He fell in love with Vallarta and the Vallartans and the crazy gringos. He studied Architecture from 1967 to 1971 and Music and Tourism from 1971 - 1973, but is a self taught artist - painter and sculptor. Alejandro has gained international acclaim as one of a talented generation of visionaries. When one thinks of Mexican artists of the 20th century, Alejandro Colunga is always on that list. He has also been the inspiration of many young artists of the 20th century.

He has had countless exhibits since 1968 in United States, Mexico, Europe and South America. Many of his works are in important collections and museums.

His home base is Guadalajara, but Alejandro lives in many different parts of the world. His love "art" takes him to many countries and he constantly has ambitious projects he is working on. "I love my profession. For me, a sculpture or painting is an act of love". The same night as the Colunga show, there will be an event in Vallarta to honor John Huston. Alejandro's studio wall backed on to John Huston's house and many an early morning as Alejandro started work, John Huston could be heard yelling over the wall "Colunga! Ven a tomar coffee". The stories of those early days are never ending.

Gabriel Colunga, born in Guadalajara in 1945, he is the second youngest of 8 children: 4 boys and 4 girls. Family is very important to Gabriel. There is not a day goes by that he does not tell me something about one of his brothers or sister - his pride overflowing.

He studied market analyzing, serigraphy and radiology technology. He loves music and taught himself to play the guitar. He is a self taught sculptor of figures real and imaginary. Sculptures full of texture and intense colors.

In many of his sculptures he expresses his emotions, memories and fantasies. His work as a radiology technician gave him a fuller understanding of the human figures that enrich his abstract feminine sculptures. He began sculpting in 1992 creating figures from small formats to works as large as 4 meters tall. As a jewelry designer he took third place honors at the 7th annual National Mexican Jewelry Exposition.

Gabriel has had numerous individual expositions in both Mexico and the United States. Compared to Alejandro, Gabriel started his sculpting career rather late in life. Many of his ideas come from every day life, from watching the people around him. Other ideas are stimulated from reading or watching movies. Part anecdotal, other life experiences, memories, stories narrated by it's characters, books that have passed through his hands. All the intensity of his life is reflected in each piece with a touch of humor, sadness, melancholy, part dream, part reality. In his new collection 2003 you will enjoy the force and the fragility of his maximum expression.

Bernardo Colunga, born in Guadalajara, the oldest of 8 children. Being self taught, Bernardo has developed his own techniques and forms of expression, principally in the areas of visual arts and music. As composer, he has presented recitals and concerts of contemporary music in South Korea, Yugoslavia, Canada, the American Union and several states in Mexico. He has worked with the Jalisco Philharmonic, the Symphony of the University Autonoma in Guadalajara and the Northeast Symphony.

In recent years, he decided to divide his creative activities and try his hand at sculpting. He had been exposed to drawing, painting and sculpture since his childhood.

Bernardo presented his first shows in 1998 in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. Bernardo has been an active member of the cultural community of Guadalajara since 1966. He has been the Executive Director of 18 Civil Associations, planning and promoting over 1000 cultural events, including International exchanges with the USA, South Korea, Russia and France. He was invited to collaborate with the Secretary of Culture for the State of Jalisco as director of events from 1992-1996 and from 2001 to present day.

Galleria Dante is honored to present the Colunga brothers and invites you to welcome them, by attending the opening of their show on November 29th, 2003, from 6pm to 10pm.

Galeria Dante
Basilio Badillo 269
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico 48380
Telephone: 222-2477